Placebo trials of surgery

In a recent systematic review of placebo trials of surgery (here) it was found that in half of the 53 trials found, surgery was not better than placebo treatment. And in the ones where it was better, the difference wasn’t great. This may not be big news to my readers, but this review was important because it highlighted many of the problems with surgery, namely that:
1) placebo studies are needed to determine the true effectiveness of surgical procedures, but …
2) surgery and associated devices are regulated less strictly than drugs, consequently …
3) surgery is often not subjected to placebo / sham studies, even though …
4) such studies are ethical and practical.

My right foot: predicament versus illness

My right foot hurts. It hurts in the middle, underneath, but not all the time, and only when I walk or take any weight on it, especially when I get up in the morning, when it becomes difficult to walk. It has been hurting on and off since I did an 80km trek three months ago. It could be a stress fracture, or some kind of fasciitis, soft tissue tear, fatigue, injury or degeneration, but I don't really care, because I am not going to have any tests or see any health care practitioners to get their version of a diagnosis. I'm just going to leave it alone. I am going to be a person with a predicament that I can cope with, and not a patient with an illness.